Cast: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Roger Rees, David Bowie, Andy Sarkis

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Running time: 128 minutes

Hanuman rating: hhhh

"The Prestige" could have been a stronger, earthier film had director Christopher Nolan not been so preoccupied with making the shots perfectly scenic, clean and dreamy.

This period thriller, set in industrial England at the turn of the century, is still worthy of at least one viewing because of its exceptional cast.

Nolan's fans, who have been craving more since his first excellent features - "Momento" in 2000 and "Insomnia" in 2002 - will be disappointed. "The Prestige" suffers from a flashy plot that probably works better as a book than a film.

Also, Nolan's limited understanding of history, especially of the 1890s, weakens the film to a large extent. The fantastic plot tends to be too wild, even for simple-minded viewers.

In this aspect, "Prestige" shares many of the annoying flaws that made "Batman Begins" such a noisy, jingoistic bore.

The four stars Hanuman gives this picture strictly belong to its excellent cast.

Foremost among them, of course, is Michael Caine, who deserves another Oscar for his performance as an engineer who builds contraptions for magicians who (we are asked to believe) are equivalent to today's rock stars in the age that preceded movies.

London then, we are again forced to imagine, was a place where magicians could amass wealth worthy of Paul McCartney.

We are also told they could acquire titles, which is really stretching the truth.

Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are quite good as rival magicians who are tragically bound to a deadly vendetta that starts when Bale accidentally kills Jackman's wife during a stage act.

A surprise cameo from David Bowie - as mysterious investor Nikolas Tesla - also adds to the strength of the film. Bowie, who's made a few good films, should do more, because he is just as fascinating to watch behind the camera as he is onstage.

Scarlett Johansson, sadly, is poorly utilised. Nolan seems to have a problem creating strong roles for women in his films. Piper Pirabo fares much better as Jackman's wife, as does Rebecca Hall as Bale's long-suffering spouse.

The movie is well received by local audiences because it appears fresh and is indeed a rarity amid so much garbage that tries to pass for cinema. The barrage of local horror fare is so absurd that it makes you wonder why there's no equivalent of "The Prestige" being made here.

Although it contains nothing sexual or daring, audiences should note that the story deals with adult material. For toddlers who are accustomed to tepid cartoons and bad cable programming, this movie could put them to sleep - or worse, activate tendencies to bawl in public places.

by hanuman